The coronavirus has delivered traumatic blows to our collective mental well-being that are as invisible as the virus itself, and in many ways, just as damaging.
Devastating job losses and the coronavirus’s lethal toll have led to increased anxiety, depression, addiction and other psychological trauma. While it may not be as obvious as job losses and coronavirus fatalities, the nation is on the cusp of a spiraling mental health crisis, experts say.
These warnings should not go unheeded, mostly because history is a good teacher. The World Trade Center attacks, mass shootings, the Great Recession and massive hurricanes all triggered serious depression, anxiety, domestic violence, child abuse and other behavioral disorders. In each instance, the negative impact on mental health persisted over long time periods, and there is no reason to think that this crisis will be different.
According to a recent poll, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 56% of American adults struggle with sleep or eating problems, potential alcohol abuse, or worsened chronic conditions since virus’ outbreak. And, each day, front-line health care workers endure emotional traumas often associated with soldiers in battle — levels of stress that we need to address if we are to properly honor and respect those who are serving us on the front lines.
Here’s a glimpse at how serious this is now and how serious it could become. The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute predicts that in Texas alone a 5 percentage point annual increase in the unemployment rate could result in 300 additional lives lost to suicide each year and 425 additional lives lost to drug overdoses.
For example, suicide is already the 11th leading cause of death in Texas and the fourth leading cause of death for Texans ages 35-44. On average, one person dies by suicide every two hours in the state, and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more Texans die by suicide than by alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents.
As shocking as the Texas statistics are, Meadows estimates that nationwide the impact of coronavirus-related stress will result in 4,000 more suicides and 4,800 overdose deaths. Those estimates would skyrocket to 18,000 more suicides and more than 22,000 additional drug overdoses annually if the economic recession approaches the scale of the Great Depression, Meadows notes.
This issue is beginning to get attention. Last week, Texas Sen. John Cornyn urged lawmakers to provide better funding, noting that “resources for mental health and substance abuse treatment providers cannot fall by the wayside.” Just days earlier a coalition of mental health service organizations asked federal officials for at least $40 billion to support their operations now and warned they could require more assistance if the demand for mental health services spikes upward as expected.
We’re not ones to lightly advocate more money as the solution to every problem. But the answer to this problem is a mix of new dollars and changes to allow more innovative delivery of mental health services to those in need. Although Congress authorized trillions of dollars in several rounds of emergency coronavirus funding for a variety of needs, that assistance hasn’t adequately addressed the long- or short-term mental health challenges we now face.
Finding innovative ways for service providers to expand their capacity to treat patients is essential, starting with widespread mental health screenings, better access to services through telemedicine, and multi-year state and federal commitments toward treating mental disorders.
As a nation, we must be prepared for the mental health pandemic that will follow the coronavirus pandemic.